Many trucks, truck trailers, cargo and/or freight containers, tankers and like vehicles typically have a walled enclosure which is provided with an opening in at least one wall thereof to allow loading and unloading of the vehicle or container. Conventionally, a door is hinged along one side for swinging movements into the plane of the wall for releasably closing the opening. A gasket seal is commonly arranged in combination with such door to inhibit moisture, dust, dirt, debris and related contaminating elements from passing between the door and the walled enclosure and entering through the opening when the door is closed.
To maintain the door in a closed position, a bar lock assembly is known to be provided between the door and the walled enclosure. Such a bar lock assembly is usually fabricated from several separate components or pieces which are typically welded together. For example, a conventional bar lock assembly includes an elongated bar pivotally mounted to the walled enclosure of the vehicle and has welded thereto a locking handle bracket having a locking handle pivotally attached thereto. The locking handle is adapted to coact with a latch on the door to hold the door in the closed position. The elongated bar of such bar lock assemblies usually includes a piece of elongated round or flat stock having at least two hinge barrels, sometimes referred to as straps, welded thereto. A pair of coaxially arranged hinge butts, secured to the walled enclosure, are pivotally interconnected to the hinge barrels as through pivot pins.
As will be appreciated, welding several individual pieces comprising the bar lock assembly requires a labor intensive effort and, thus, is relatively expensive. Moreover, when several components forming a bar lock are welded to each other, it is customary to provide fixtures for holding the various components in their desired assembled relationship relative to each other. Of course, the need to provide such fixtures further increases the fabrication expense, and, thus, the overall costs for the bar lock assembly. Additionally, certain expertise is required to properly arrange the components relative to the fixtures for welding. This also adds to the overall cost of the bar lock assembly.
To enhance the ability of the gasket to seal about the marginal edge of the door, a bar lock assembly is frequently designed to apply a compressive force against an outer surface of the door when the locking handle is arranged in operable combination with the latch to hold the door closed. When a separate locking handle bracket is welded to the elongated round or flat stock, tolerance variations coupled with inadvertent but inescapable human errors in repetitively locating the respective components in their respective fixtures leads to inconsistent angular orientations and differences between the respective parts. If the tolerance variations and accumulation of errors are extreme or excessive, the compressive force exerted by the bar lock assembly on the door and, thus, on the gasket may be inadequate for the intended purpose. Accordingly, there may be leakage between the gasket and the walled enclosure which can lead to contaminants, i.e., moisture, dust, dirt and debris, entering the walled enclosure through the opening. Moreover, when the pressure exerted by the bar lock assembly against the door is inadequate, premature wear on the door, door hinges, gaskets and related components can result from excessive vibration between the door and walled enclosure. On the other hand, when excessive tolerance variations cause the door lock assembly to exert too much pressure against the door, the operator can have difficulty in securing the handle lock in locked relation with the lock on the door.
Thus, there is a need and continuing desire for an improved bar lock assembly for holding a door in a closed position, which is strong and simple in construction, while substantially reducing the fixtures required for assembly thereby making it more economical to manufacture.